Build nation's future on more than gambling

June 26, 2012

I took a trolley tour of the old Bethlehem Steel plant, as given periodically by retired Bethlehem Steel workers. It was educational and heartbreaking. I saw the blast furnaces — towering giants of industrial prowess sitting in rusting decay. In their place: a casino.

These furnaces once produced the steel that built this nation. They built the bridges and skyscrapers used by our generation and generations to come. They built the ships that defended this nation through two world wars. They produced things of lasting importance that contribute to the prosperity we enjoy today.

The casino, by contrast, produces nothing of tangible value. All it does is move money from one person's pocket to another. To even call it an "industry" is absurd. Sure it provides some jobs, so in that sense it is better than nothing at all. But when the casino is gone, we will have nothing to show for it. We won't be better or safer as a nation. We'll only be more broke.

Why do we have a casino where a steel mill once stood? Simple: A casino is far more profitable. We had better, as a nation, wake up and get our priorities straight.